Handkerchief



Aug. '20, 1929. M, p, BEE 1,725,502

HANDKERCHIEF Filed July 13, 1926 INVENTOR MAY P5424 5E5 Patented Aug. 20, 1929.

UNITED STATES MAY PEARLBEE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

HANDKERCHIEF.

Application filed Ju1y 13,

My invention relates to decorated handkerchiefs and more particularly to a new and improved handkerchief in which the corners are provided with decorative plumes.

5 Preferably, the plumes or tassels are so constructed and arranged that they have sub stantial stiffness or stability and project sub stantially in the plane of the fabric, so that if, for example, the handkerchief is folded and 0 placed in a pocket or sleeve in the usual way with the corners protruding, the tassels will project substantially in line with the hand kerchief corners and provide a novel, attractive, plume-like appearance.

The accompanying drawing shows one exemplifying embodiment of the invention and also explains one method by which the tasseled handkerchiefs are produced. After considering these examples, skilled persons will understand that many variations may be made within the principles of the invention, and I contemplate any such variations that are within the scope of the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the handkerchief embodying the invention in one form. 4

Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive show successive steps in the formation or application of the tassels to a handkerchief, in accordance with one preferred method.

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of the handkerchief folded in one preferred way for insertion in a pocket or sleeve.

The handkerchief 1, which is usually a square of any suitable fabric, is preferably provided with a hem 2 which is desirably of substantial thickness and may be produced by folding or rolling the fabric margin to a thickness of two or more folds or turns.

This hem is secured by any suitable stitching, and cross stitching or whipping threads 3 may be applied to secure the hem or for decorative purposes. The hem structure and decorative stitching may vary considerably,

as well understood in. this art. The hem is provided, not only for decorative efiect, but to provide a filler or base at the corners where the tassels are applied, this base forming in effect a part of the tassel structure.

Tassels or plumes 4 are applied or secured at one or more, and preferably all, of the corners. In the broader aspect of the invention these plumes may be of any suitable construe tion and applied in any-suitable way, but preferably, they are of such substantially stiff or stable construction that they will stand 1926. Serial No. 122,118.

out approximately straight from the handkerchief corners, or in the plane of the fabric, for reasons later stated.

The preferred form of tassel and the mode of applying it'in connection with the handkerchief and hem, are shown in the drawing and especially in Figs. 2' to 6. To produce this preferred tassel a thread 5, which may be a multi-strand silk, or other thread, is passed through the handkerchief fabric at the corner or through the inner partof the hem. The thread is then again passed through the fabric in the same direction at adjacent points, repeatedly, to form a suitable plurality of loops 6, Fig. 3, the number of loops depending on the desired bulk or thickness of the tassel and other considerations. The loops may easily be made all of the same size by passing the thread about the finger of the operator as the loops are formed, or other methods or devices for this purpose may be employed if machine methods are used. When a sufficient number of loops has been formed, the thread is passed or wound one or more times about the loop threads near the handkerchief corner, as at 7 Fig. 3. This is for the purpose of securing the loop threads together to form a tassel stem or shank and the number of turns taken depends on the desired thickness or stiffness of this stem. At the end of this wrapping operation the thread is passed under one of the loop threads, usually the thread of one of the outward loops, as at 8, Fig. 3, and then through the hem, out of the handkerchief fabric at one side, as at 9, back through the fabric, as at 10, and again outward through the hem, leaving the free end 11, which is at least as long as the loops. The tie or button hole knot so formed is pulled up tight, as in Fig. 4. The loop threads are then severed as by a knife, as indicated in Fig. 4, producing a flattened brush formation extending from the tassel stem 12 and this may be simply trimmed so that the threads are of equal lengths, or preferably, the individual multi-strand threads are frayed out, as sufficiently indicated in Fig. 5, to produce a flattened tassel brush, the individual strands of which are fine single strands of the silk or other threads. A brush so formed spreads out relatively wide and flat to produce a very attractive and decorative, plume-like appearance.

The stem or base of the tassel so produced includes a multiplicity of the loop threads, the tie or binding threads represented by the thread portion 7, and it also includes the corner hem portion of substantial thickness and stiffness, since the loop threads pass over the hem at both sides thereof, and the hem is therefore included within the tassel stem, to thicken, stiffen and render the same more stable. By this construction or arrangement, When the handkerchief is folded, as sufficiently represented in Fig. 6, to expose the 'corners, ready for inserting in a pocket or sleeve, the tassels by reason of the substantial stifiness or stability of their stems, and also because the silk threads usually employed for the purpose are composed of thin fibers which are readily brushed or flattened out and are cut relatively short, as clearly shown in Figs. and 5,, project outward or upward substantially in the plane of the handkerchief fabric instead of dropping limply, and therefore produce a distinctly new, attractive and decorative effect.

I have here shown and described only one representative Way of producing or applying the tassels. While this is preferred in many cases, other forms of tassels or other modes of forming or applying tassels to the handkerchief may evidently be employed.

I claim As a new article of manufacture, a rectangular piece of fabric material provided at its corners with plumes or tassels, each composed of a plurality of doubled threads, the threads passing through the material at the corners with one end of each thread each face of the piece, and a binder encircling the threads at each corner, engaging the threads close to the edges of the piece at each side of the corner to hold the completed tassel in line with the biscctor of the corner angle and in substantially the plane of the handkerchief.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this th day of June, A. D. 1926.

MAY PEARL BEE. 

